India-Russia: News & Analysis

renukb · Post by **renukb** » 18 Oct 2008 09:12

Russia plans major military reform
Alan Philps, Associate Editor

Last Updated: October 16. 2008 11:17PM UAE / October 16. 2008 7:17PM GMT
Dmitri Medvedev, Russia’s president, left, with Col Gen Nikolai Solovtsov, the commander of Russia’s Strategic Missile Forces, centre, and Anatoly Serdyukov, the defence minister, at the Plesetsk cosmodrome. Dmitry Astakhov / RIA Novosti via Reuters

Russia is launching the most radical reform of its armed forces since the collapse of the Soviet Union, designed to turn a lumbering Cold War-era army into a modern fighting force.

The plans follow a mixed performance by the Russian army in its five-day war against tiny Georgia in August. Russian analysts have highlighted basic weaknesses – lack of night-vision equipment, non-working radios and poor air cover – despite massively increased defence budgets in recent years.

The London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) has concluded that Russia’s quick victory was the result of the US-trained Georgian army collapsing, not any tactical excellence. Had the Russian army faced a “more resolute enemy”, it would have suffered heavy losses, the IISS said in a briefing paper.

These conclusions have strengthened the hand of Anatoly Serdyukov, the reforming defence minister, who this week revealed plans for a dramatic cull of the 335,000-strong officer corps that makes up no less than one-third of the army’s total manpower.

By 2012, officer numbers will be cut to 150,000, with the focus on younger ones in charge of combat units in place of the military bureaucrats who occupy prime real estate in the heart of Moscow.

More than 200 generals will be retired, but that will still leave Russia with 900 generals for its million-strong armed forces. In the United States, by contrast, an army of half that size has only 306 generals.

Not surprisingly, the officer corps has put up resistance to Mr Serdyukov, a civilian who formerly headed the Federal Tax Service, an agency that inspires the same respect as the old KGB in the past.

“The old school is well entrenched in the defence ministry and Serdyukov will have to go head-to-head with them,” said Col Christopher Langton, a senior fellow at the IISS. “But the signs are that he can succeed where his predecessor failed. He is a good manager and a tough one.”

In June, the minister won a battle against the old guard when he forced out Gen Yuri Baluyevsky, the chief of general staff. The general had opposed his plans to civilianise military jobs, sell off office space in Moscow and move the navy headquarters to St Petersburg. The port city is the home of the defence minister and his patron, Vladimir Putin, the prime minister.

Col Langton said the influence of the old guard was clear, not just in the determination of old officers to hang on to their posts and perks but also in the old thinking still dominant in the defence ministry. This had led to “tactical deficiencies” in the Georgia campaign.

Mr Serdyukov made clear his vision for the future when he praised the role in the Georgia campaign of the Russian airborne division, a professional – not conscript – unit that is part of the strategic reserve.

The 58th Army, based across the border from Georgia whose main task has been fighting Chechen rebels, was first into battle. But it was not up to the task of taking on the Georgians, who were better equipped to fight at night. Gen Anatoly Khrulyov, its commander, was wounded in an ambush.

The army’s technical weakness was apparent when some soldiers lost contact with their units once on Georgian soil and begged to use foreign reporters’ mobile phones. The army rushed to install Russian mobile phone masts to make up for the failure of the military radios.

Poor equipment almost led to a battle on the outskirts of the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, which would have raised the conflict to a full-blown international crisis. In a muscle-flexing gesture, the Russians sent a column of 80 tanks and armoured vehicles towards Tbilisi, with instructions to turn away just before reaching the Georgian defences. But some of the vehicles broke down, and lost contact with the rest of the column. When the stragglers set off again, they lost their way and were about to blunder into the Georgian army. Journalists on the road pointed them in the right direction.

Most surprisingly, the Russian forces had no reconnaissance drones – even though Russia sells such equipment for export. This led to the Georgians – equipped with Israeli-made drones – shooting down seven Russian aircraft, though only four of these have been acknowledged.

The size of the army has fallen drastically since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, when it numbered about three million. But reform of its structure has always been resisted, even while recruitment has collapsed. This has left it packed with officers, who often carry out menial tasks that in a western army could be done by a private.

The officer cull is going ahead at a time when Dmitri Medvedev, the Russian president, is promising a dramatic boost to military power. The nuclear arsenal is to be renewed by 2020.

A unified air and space defence system will be set up. Russia plans to become the world’s second naval power, building six carrier battle groups over the next 20 years. The army will be mobile, and in “permanent readiness”, he has promised.

All these promises might suggest that Russia is preparing for a new Cold War. Russian media have even suggested that recent military exercises were a simulation of war with the United States.

The independent Russian defence analyst Pavel Felgenhauer, who takes a sceptical view of the military establishment, dismisses these promises of global military reach as “nonsense” designed to win over the opponents of military reform.

The government’s plans were “contradictory” and probably way beyond any conceivable defence budget, he wrote in the independent Moscow newspaper Novaya Gazeta this week.

A unified air and space defence system was beyond Russia’s capability, while air superiority over US and Nato forces would “require more than 100 years”. Mr Felgenhauer questioned how the defence ministry could provide pay-offs, pensions and houses for 45,000 retiring officers a year while grappling with such a drastic rearmament programme. But Col Langton, of the IISS, believes Russia is determined to project force abroad again.

“There cannot be a new Cold War because there is no ideological struggle,” he said. “But we will see increased competition between the Russians and the Americans. The Russians are intent on exerting influence where they see fit.” In the Kremlin view, the August war showed the limits of US power on Russia’s borders. In Kremlin jargon, the “unipolar world” – in which the United States was the unchallenged superpower – has ended, making way for a “multipolar” arrangement where Washington is one of several powers.

If the Russians are right, then Georgia will never join Nato, while the US Navy will think twice in future before holding exercises in the Black Sea.

The next area of competition, according to Col Langton, will be the Mediterranean and North African regions. Plans for a permanent Russian naval base at Tartous in Syria clearly show Moscow’s plans to project sea power once again around the Middle East.

renukb · Post by **renukb** » 18 Oct 2008 09:16

India, Russia to discuss n-pact Monday
October 18th, 2008 - 12:24 am ICT by IANS -

http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/unc ... 08565.html

New Delhi, Oct 17 (IANS) Nearly a fortnight after India sealed its nuclear deal with the US, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov arrives here Monday on a daylong visit that will set the stage for the signing of a bilateral nuclear pact with Moscow later this year. Lavrov will hold talks with his Indian counterpart Pranab Mukherjee on a wide range of bilateral and global issues, including defence, counter-terrorism and civil nuclear cooperation between the two countries.

They are expected to sign a protocol on holding regular consultations between the foreign ministries of the two countries, the external affairs ministry said in a statement Friday.

Mukherjee and Lavrov last met in New York Sep 28 on the sidelines of the 63rd meeting of the UN General Assembly.

This will be the first high-level meeting between the two countries after India and the US inked a landmark civil nuclear cooperation accord.

“Civil nuclear cooperation between India and Russia will figure prominently in the discussions,” an official source said.

The two ministers are likely to discuss the signing of the India-Russia civil nuclear cooperation pact which is expected to be inked during Russian President Dmitry Medvedev’s visit to New Delhi in December.

renukb · Post by **renukb** » 18 Oct 2008 10:04

I have a feeling that Russia will be completely defeated by the west, and it can eventually be part of EU in the next 15 - 25 years of time MAX. Who will own Siberia is interesting to watch out for. I don't think Russia will be able to build and project itself as a POLE in a multipolar world. This would have happened if Ukraine was still part of Russia. With India and China having learnt the art of taking care of their own interests and Russia not treating either one of them as equal partners, and US making smart moves with India, Russian dreams / days as super power are numbered. In the coming 2 - 3 decades Russians will be at best, happy to be part of EU.

The Axis of Moscow
It's lonely out there for Vladimir Putin.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1224282 ... lenews_wsj

Where would Russia be without Daniel Ortega? Even more isolated than the Kremlin now finds itself after its August adventure in Georgia.

Two months after the war in the Caucasus, Mr. Ortega's Nicaragua is the lone country to follow Moscow's recognition of the "independence" -- in effect, Russian annexation -- of Georgia's South Ossetia and Abkhazia provinces. Given Russia's serious diplomatic onslaught, that's an embarrassing outcome for Vladimir Putin.

Consider the rogue's gallery that refused to go along: Hugo Chávez's Venezuela, the Castros' Cuba, Bolivia, Iran and Syria. The club of seven authoritarian former Soviet republics known as the Collective Security Treaty Organization also demurred. Even Moscow's puppet autocrat in Belarus, Aleksander Lukashenko, deferred to his toothless parliament; in other words, nyet, for now. Russia was rebuffed by China and India at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

There is of course a long line of goons happy to take military, energy or economic handouts from the Kremlin, though the dramatic drop in oil prices and Russian stocks will limit its ability to buy people off. Mr. Lukashenko could well be holding out his support for cheaper natural gas. But Russia's erratic and aggressive behavior in the Caucasus has apparently given even him pause about its possible intentions against Belarus.

In addition to Mr. Ortega, Russia did manage recognition by Hamas, Hezbollah and the Moldovan regions of Gaugazia and Trans-Dniester. But that is little solace for a Kremlin whose bigger goal in the war was to declare a Monroe-ski Doctrine for its "near abroad" and lead a new anti-American block. Fyodor Lukyanov, the editor of Russia in Global Affairs, summed up the strategy: "Our long effort to become part of the West is over. The aim now is to be an independent power in a multipolar world in which Russia is a major player."

It's hard to be a major player when all you have is very minor friends.

Please add your comments to the Opinion Journal forum.

vavinash · Post by **vavinash** » 18 Oct 2008 10:55

Stupid analysis at best. Russia doesn't care who recognizes S ossetia. They can hold it on their own and show the world the middle finger.

prabir · Post by **prabir** » 18 Oct 2008 20:16

So much talk about Russia unable to regain its influence. What about US able to regain its influence ? Any independent analysis of US fiscal situation will make one understand that,

-- Its China, India, Russia, Saudi Arabia who hold more than trillion of treasury notes. They are buying the US debt not out of charity but as a way to restrain unilateral behavior of US.

-- Over leverages financial institutions of US also do not inspire any "confidence". Great Britain also has the same mess. Other European countries are not in such a bad shape because, they did not chew more than they could swallow.

-- With its unilateral actions coming under a "system of checks and balances", do you think it will be very easy on part of neo-cons to sustain such a large deficit, maintain increase in real incomes (adjusted against inflation) ?

The world is moving toward multi lateralism and that is good. Now there will lesser Fin 101 lessons, preaching of western values to countries - BRIC, South Africa etc.

Suppiah · Post by **Suppiah** » 18 Oct 2008 23:00

vavinash wrote:Stupid analysis at best. Russia doesn't care who recognizes S ossetia. They can hold it on their own and show the world the middle finger.

Doesn't care who recognises? I suppose Putin jumped the gun and recognised them to decorate his private album with new maps.

I only wish Russia will continue to bury its head in the sand and not see the writing on the wall just as you are trying to do. That would hasten its collapse as a crony capitalist yet commie minded super-power wannabe of the type Putin wants it to be.

vavinash · Post by **vavinash** » 18 Oct 2008 23:35

Who recognizes kosovo that US and Allies were desperately trying to free from serbs? The only one not seeing the writing is US. I will give NATO a life span of another 10-15 years max. Before long one Eu nation after another will jump the boat and leave US and UK floundering.

prabir · Post by **prabir** » 19 Oct 2008 00:59

After 1991, with no checks and balances in place, lot of us have started over-estimating the power of US. Hyper power initiatives have started taking toll of economic health of US. Failure in Iraq and Afganistan have shown the limitations of American resolve and power. The downhill has begun.

renukb · Post by **renukb** » 19 Oct 2008 09:53

Russia ready to expand nuclear ties
Vladimir Radyuhin

Russia, India enjoy “high degree of mutual trust, understanding”

Russian President to visit India later in the year

http://www.hindu.com/2008/10/19/stories ... 031100.htm

MOSCOW: Russia is ready to expand cooperation with India in nuclear energy, an official spokesman said commenting on Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s planned visit to India.

“The lifting of international restrictions on cooperation with India in the sphere of ‘peaceful atom’ allows us to embark on practical implementation of existing agreements to expand joint projects in the nuclear energy field,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko told the RIA Novosti news agency.

Mr. Lavrov arrives in New Delhi on Monday to prepare President Dmitry Medvedev’s visit to India later this year.

During Mr. Medvedev’s visit the two sides are expected to sign an inter-governmental agreement for the construction of four additional reactors at Koodankulam, where Russia is currently building two reactors.

The Russian spokesman underlined that India and Russia have relations of “strategic partnership,” share “close or identical views” on global issues and enjoy “a high degree of mutual trust and understanding.”

Bilateral trade target
He expressed confidence that the two countries could achieve the bilateral trade target of $10 billion by 2010 if current growth rates were maintained. Last year Indo-Russian trade increased by 30 per cent to $5.3 billion, and registered a further 41.6 per cent growth in January-August this year, RIA Novosti quoted Mr. Nesterenko as saying.

India will host a Russian national exhibition in New Delhi from November 25-28 under the Year of Russia festival, which has already featured about 140 events, the Russian spokesman said.

prabir · Post by **prabir** » 19 Oct 2008 20:30

Understanding on peaceful atom should also include transfer/ knowledge transfer of sensitive nuclear technology to India. This will prove that Russians are real friends of India.

asprinzl · Post by **asprinzl** » 19 Oct 2008 21:13

As far as I can see, power comes from money and as long as Indians, Russians, Japanese, Taiwanese, Singaporeans, Oil Sheiks, Koreans, Brazilians and Argentinians keep parking their money in western banks (mostly because these folks cannot trust their own banks for honesty) the center of power will continue to reside in the west.

All these predictions of the decline of the west is purely empty huewy.

Also, if these western banks go down as being predicted, all the billions parked by the above mentioned folks would go up in smoke. Legally the banks are liable to reimburse the money deposited but if their kitty has gone in smoke it would be fruitless to make them pay. It would be bad for the west but it would be worse for the above mentioned nations. In this global economy before the west declines, the rest of the world will hit rock botton first. Why? Basically because most of the world's money is locked up in western banks.

Until everyone understands this basic fundamental point, all talk of the downfall of either America or England or the west in general is delusional empty air wet dream.
Avram Sprinzl

prabir · Post by **prabir** » 19 Oct 2008 22:37

Agreed, but control of western banks is not with just western shareholders. Western control is diminishing and they have to listen and act with a more consensual approach

Karan Dixit · Post by **Karan Dixit** » 20 Oct 2008 00:44

Moscow, Oct 17: The Yantar shipyard in Russia's Baltic enclave of Kaliningrad today said it would complete the construction of the second of three missile frigates for the Indian Navy by March 2009.

http://www.newkerala.com/topstory-fullnews-34018.html

renukb · Post by **renukb** » 22 Oct 2008 10:55

Russia Supports India in the UN SC
http://www.vostokmedia.com/n27605.html

MOSCOW. 22 October. VOSTOK-MEDIA. Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Russia and India summarized results achieved in 2009-2010 at the joint conference and signed a Protocol on consultations of Ministers of Foreign Affairs.

Sergey Lavrov, Russian Minister of FA, and Parnab Mukherji, Indian Minister of FA, proclaim that Russia and India are strategic partners and going to broaden further cooperation in all spheres including cultural, political, economic and etc. Also Ministers discussed Russian president, Dmitriy Medvedev’s visit to India and preparation of Year of India in Russia in 2009.

Real achievement of the joint conference was that Russia supported India becoming a member of the United Nations Security Council. Both countries are closely cooperate in the frameworks of almost all international organizations such as: G8, the Shanghai’s Cooperation Organization, strategic triangle – Russia-India-China, BRIC and etc.

According to Mr. Lavrov, India is an active member of the international community that follows the rule of international law, including a sphere of nuclear non-proliferation and working with IAEA. Russia welcomed abortion of restriction law imposed on india in the sphere of nuclear potential usage.

renukb · Post by **renukb** » 22 Oct 2008 10:57

Russia to deliver 25 airliners to India: Report
[urlhttp://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/News_By_Industry/Transportation/Airlines__Aviation/Russia_to_deliver_25_airliners_to_India_Report/articleshow/3625149.cms]Link here[/url]

MOSCOW: A Russian company has agreed to deliver 25 civilian airliners to India in a deal worth over 700 million dollars, the Interfax news agency reported on Tuesday, citing a company executive.

"We signed a contract for 25 aircraft, of which five aircraft should be (delivered) before 2012," Pavel Melnikov, managing director of the Russian Aircraft aviation holding company, was quoted as saying.

Interfax identified the planes as Il-114-100 airliners and said industry experts had estimated the size of the deal to be worth more than 700 million dollars (520 million euros).

renukb · Post by **renukb** » 22 Oct 2008 11:04

Russia has over $5 bln in foreign naval orders
13:37 | 21/ 10/ 2008

MOSCOW, October 21 (RIA Novosti) - Foreign orders for Russian naval hardware for the next three years exceed $5 billion, a state arms export monopoly senior official said on Tuesday.

"The portfolio of orders, namely contracts signed and in force, is estimated at over $5 billion, with different deadlines up to 2011," said Ivan Goncharenko, first deputy general director of Rosoboronexport.

In 2007 the share of naval equipment in Rosoboronexport's portfolio of export orders was 9% or $600 million, the official said, adding that India, China, Algeria, Vietnam and Indonesia remained key buyers of Russia's naval armaments.

India and China have purchased submarines, frigates and destroyers. Vietnam has ordered Svetlyak-class fast attack boats and frigates, while Indonesia will receive corvettes built in Russia in cooperation with Spanish firms.

Speaking about the naval orders from Venezuela, Goncharenko said Russia had not signed any contracts with Caracas to supply submarines, as some media sources had speculated.

"We discuss arms deals with many countries, but as of today Rosoboronexport has no submarine contracts signed with that country," he said.

Venezuela's vice president, Ramon Carrizales was earlier quoted as saying that the Latin American state planned to buy Amur-class diesel submarines from Russia.
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20081021/117854589.html

sum · Post by **sum** » 22 Oct 2008 12:49

renukb wrote:Russia to deliver 25 airliners to India: Report
Link here

MOSCOW: A Russian company has agreed to deliver 25 civilian airliners to India in a deal worth over 700 million dollars, the Interfax news agency reported on Tuesday, citing a company executive.

"We signed a contract for 25 aircraft, of which five aircraft should be (delivered) before 2012," Pavel Melnikov, managing director of the Russian Aircraft aviation holding company, was quoted as saying.

Interfax identified the planes as Il-114-100 airliners and said industry experts had estimated the size of the deal to be worth more than 700 million dollars (520 million euros).

Who is buying 25 Il-114s in India??

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 22 Oct 2008 14:39

Indo-Russian arms cooperation has been extended for another decade.The list of arms on order/collaborative programmes is growing,from hypersonic Brahmos missiles (which will be used by Russian military forces too) to the 5th-gen fighter and MIG-29Ks for the IN.With Pres.Medvedev arriving in Dec.,expect a further boost to traditional military ties with Russia.

Those nations who have written off the Russians will be in for a huge shock.Russia has massive energy and mineral wealth still untouched.It spans the globe across three continents,from Europe and the Artic across Asia to Alaska.It has a huge scientific and industrial base to go with the mineral wealth,which if used for the development of the country and not pocketed by oligarchs,whom Putin has tamed,cannot be stopped from progressing.One need not mention in detail its existing nuclear weaponry that makes it almost immune to attack from any other nuclear power.Under Putin and Medvedev,Russia has found leaders who are confident and strong,who plan a huge modernisation of the Russian military and also the setting up of a natural gas cartel on the lines of OPEC with Iran and Qatar,which would further boost their already key influence in European energy supplies.

The Sukhoi "Superjet",being developed and built with western (RR) engines and to FAA standards is going to be a massive success,with hundreds of potential orders already being booked for Russia and the globe.The jet which will carry about 100 passengers,will rival those regional jets of Embraer and Bombardier.There was a mockup at the last Aero-India,likely to be at next years' show too.It would be most intersting to see who is buying the Ilyushins.

Igorr · Post by **Igorr** » 24 Oct 2008 13:09

Very interesting new declassified documents about Munich pact:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTuh-hRoCNU&sdig=1

renukb · Post by **renukb** » 24 Oct 2008 17:12

FRUITS OF THE RUSSIA-INDIA RELATIONSHIP.
Link here

renukb · Post by **renukb** » 24 Oct 2008 17:16

http://en.rian.ru/world/20081023/117916997.html
Russia's top security official discusses cooperation with India

NEW DELHI, October 23 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's Security Council chief, Nikolai Patrushev, said in New Delhi on Thursday that Russia is India's most important strategic partner.

"India has once against stressed that it enjoys strategic partnership [with Russia] as with no other country," Patrushev said following his meeting with Indian National Security Adviser Shri M.K. Narayanan.

Patrushev, who arrived in India on Tuesday for a four-day official visit, and Narayanan discussed issues of bilateral cooperation, security, energy and fight against terrorism.

He said India is interested in exchanging information on Afghanistan and Pakistan, as well as other forms of cooperation within the framework of the fight against terrorism and drug trafficking.

The official also discussed the forthcoming visit of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who will pay his first trip to India as Russia's head of state in early December.

"It will be a very busy visit and we must use it to give a new impetus to the development of relations," Patrushev said.

The Russian security chief also said he discussed with Narayanan an intergovernmental agreement on cooperation in the nuclear energy sphere, which is planned to be signed during Medvedev's visit.

Russia and India are currently preparing to sign a bilateral nuclear agreement initialed in February 2008. Under the agreement, Russia will help to build four more reactors at India's Kudankulam nuclear power plant. Further nuclear cooperation is also envisaged.

Atomstroyexport, Russia's nuclear power equipment and service export monopoly, has been building two reactors for the Kudankulam plant in the southern province of Tamil Nadu since 2002 in line with a 1988 deal between India and the Soviet Union and an addendum signed 10 years later.

India, a major purchaser of Russian arms, has moved closer to the United States since the end of the Cold War and recently agreed a deal on nuclear cooperation with Washington.

vsudhir · Post by **vsudhir** » 25 Oct 2008 16:00

x-post

Gorshkov in knots

New Delhi: The Finance Ministry has shot down a proposal from the Ministry of Defence to consider a $1.2-billion hike in the refit costs of aircraft carrier Vikramaditya (the former Russian Admiral Gorshkov).

This is the second time the proposal has been sent back since Russia nearly doubled the refit costs of the 44,500-tonne aircraft carrier last year and indicated a fouryear delay in delivery, from 2008 to 2012.

The Vikramaditya drydocked in MurmanskWary of the price hike setting a bad precedent for other defence deals, the Finance Ministry has questioned the emergence of a $600-million cost for the yearlong sea trials set to begin in 2011.

The impasse comes at a time when Sevmash, the Artic shipyard where the carrier is being refitted, is readying to take the ship out of the drydock and moor it at a pier for installing engines and heavy machinery.

Sevmash has asked for more funds from the Indian Government, which has paid over two-thirds of the original refit cost but frozen payments since January 2007. It seems unlikely that the Vikramaditya imbroglio will be resolved before the state visit of President Dmitri Medvedev in December.

sum · Post by **sum** » 25 Oct 2008 17:53

vsudhir wrote:x-post

Gorshkov in knots

New Delhi: The Finance Ministry has shot down a proposal from the Ministry of Defence to consider a $1.2-billion hike in the refit costs of aircraft carrier Vikramaditya (the former Russian Admiral Gorshkov).

This is the second time the proposal has been sent back since Russia nearly doubled the refit costs of the 44,500-tonne aircraft carrier last year and indicated a fouryear delay in delivery, from 2008 to 2012.

..............

Where does this leave the IN?

renukb · Post by **renukb** » 25 Oct 2008 18:06

Where does this leave the IN?

ofcourse! in waters!

satya · Post by **satya** » 25 Oct 2008 18:30

Russian default risk tops Iceland as crisis deepens

prabir · Post by **prabir** » 25 Oct 2008 21:10

Good time to negotiate as a "friend" with Russia and get some goodies.

renukb · Post by **renukb** » 26 Oct 2008 12:16

Russia does not see shift in India's foreign policy

Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 25 (PTI) Russian Ambassador to India Vyacheslav Trubnikov said that he does not feel there is any shift in India's foreign policy and the shift has instead come from West.

"In our view, the West used to ignore India in the international arena. They have shifted their stand. India knows who their friends are and who are their trusted comrades," he said last evening a day after inaugurating the honorary consulate of Russia here.

Trubnikov, who visited Koodamkulam nuclear plant supported by Russia, said two reactors were ready for commissioning. Four more reactors would be ready by December.

A business-to-business relationship was possible now with India which had emerged as an economic power, he said.

"There is a necessity for country-to-country relationship for both sides," he said. Russia had decades-long relationship with Kerala even during the Soviet days, he said and recalled that he had read about the first Communist Chief Minister of Kerala E M S Namboodiripad.

The progress of the country depended on energy sources and it was essential to make use of non-traditional sources of energy, he said.

Russia could lend help to India in the field of hydro-power and tourism. The country would focus more on southern India which was one of the reasons an honorary consulate was opened in Thiruvananthapuram, he said.

The next honorary consulate would be opened in Hyderabad, he said. PTI

sum · Post by **sum** » 26 Oct 2008 20:45

The country would focus more on southern India which was one of the reasons an honorary consulate was opened in Thiruvananthapuram, he said.

Why would you open a consulate in not-so-happening place like Trivandrum in Southern India(ignoring Hyd, Blore, Chennai etc)?
Is it to (re)kindle the relationship between the LDF in Kerala and the FSB (if its already not happening..)?

renukb · Post by **renukb** » 29 Oct 2008 09:50

This is the right thing to do for Russia.... Not having good Relation ship with the West is not the end of world. US and EU need to realize this.

India, China are priority: Russia
http://www.hindu.com/2008/10/29/stories ... 241200.htm
Vladimir Radyuhin

MOSCOW: Russia plans to shift the focus of its foreign trade from Europe to Asia, prioritising India and China.

A foreign trade strategy through 2020 approved by the Russian Cabinet on Monday calls for reorienting the foreign trade gradually from the European to Asian markets, said a Russian government official.

Apart from pushing for closer economic integration with its ex-Soviet allies in the Russia-led Eurasia Economic Union – Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, Moscow plans to step up economic ties with India, China, Iran, Afghanistan and Mongolia.

“China and India in future will replace Europe as Russia’s main trading partners,” said the official. “They are key markets which have been growing more dynamically than the European Union.”

Russia will continue to source advanced technologies and management knowhow from Europe, and to acquire European assets, said the unnamed official. At the same time, it would pursue a far more ambitious goal of increasing its presence in Asian markets through an aggressive export policy.

While oil and gas will continue to dominate exports, Moscow plans to double the share of engineering goods in its export basket from 6-7 per cent today to 14 per cent by 2020, he said.

Export insurance agency
Russia’s Economic Development Minister Elvira Nabiulina said the government is planning to set up an export insurance agency to support the Russian high-tech export drive.

Russia and China on Tuesday signed a long-negotiated deal to build an oil pipeline from Siberia across the Chinese border. The deal signed on the sidelines of Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao visit to Moscow provides for the supply of about 15 million tonnes of oil per year along a side pipeline that would run from the trunk East Siberia-Pacific Ocean pipeline, which is still under construction.

Russia’s Prime Minister Vladimir Putin called for switching in trade with China from dollars to roubles and yuan. Trade between the two countries is expected to touch $50 billion this year and is projected to increase to between $60 and $80 billion by 2010.

Shankar · Post by **Shankar** » 29 Oct 2008 13:35

Russia’s Prime Minister Vladimir Putin called for switching in trade with China from dollars to roubles and yuan. Trade between the two countries is expected to touch $50 billion this year and is projected to increase to between $60 and $80 billion by 2010.

-beginning of the end of dollar domination?

Neshant · Post by **Neshant** » 29 Oct 2008 14:02

judging from the way russians make and break contracts (ie. hiking prices of defence items after contracts have been signed), i would not trust any wheeling and dealing with them over a span of 2 years let alone 20 years.

i'd insist on cash up front and cash would not mean roubles.

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 29 Oct 2008 17:08

There was a fond hope some yeasr ago,during the last days of the Cold War,that a triumvirate of Russia,China and India would emerge to rival the western alliance of NATO and the G-7/8 whatever.It was then wishful thinking.Even now,given the mutual lingering mistrust between India and China,the chance of an "alliance" is farfetched in the views of most analysts.The US is methodically pulling India into a "tilt" towards the west,in particular that of the US.The method to concretise the allaince is through military transfers,as has been proven worldwide.Thus far,Russia has been our most important arms supplier,and now collaborator with Brahmos,etc.The US is trying very hard to break the strong traditional military ties between Russia and India.However,this is not such an easy task as the US is loath to supply even its own allies like Britain with advanced technology for the JSF strike fighter.How will India then get complete TOT from the US? Therefore,there is a point beyond which Indo-US military ties will never take that "leap of faith" that exists between India and Russia,no matter what the current hiccups in some deliveries like the Gorshkov suggest/Israel and Europe are being used to spread the orders.

The current economic crisis has strangely brought the Asian countries closer.They for no reason of their own,have suffered enormously thanks to the profligacy of US "casino capitalists",to coin MMS's description of their "robber (banker) barons".In the report below,western countries are going to suffer more from loss of depleting petro production and revenue than from terrorism! Russia with its massive reserves is going to be a major energy player on the world stage as much as the Saudis are doing so now and if the gas cartel being planned like "OPEC" materialises,it will have even greater influence in world economic affairs,apart from its military superpower status.China and India are also coming together on many economic issues and by default,a working realtionship could emerge if the Chinese abandon their haughty posturing on the border issue.The collapse of the Pak economy must surely have shaken China,as it cannot bail out its so-called "all-weather friend" in the current economic meltdown.That India has been shaken but still stands upright is bound to indicate to the Chinese where their friendship should take them.They can either have India outside the tent pissing in,or inside pissing out.Regardless of what China does,Indo-Russian relations are bound to grow even stronger in the coming years.In both manpower and raw material,Asia holds the key for the future,with an emerging Aftrica behind it.If the three Asian giants,Russia,China and India can come to an accomodation on strategic issues,a major shift in the global balance of power is bound to emerge.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/fina ... orism.html

Falling oil production 'is greater threat to Britain than terrorism'

prabir · Post by **prabir** » 29 Oct 2008 22:31

Russia will always trust India more over China because it does not share a land border with India. This is a unique opportunity to make best of friendship with Russia, use understanding with China to build up the economy and engage the Western Powers to our own advantage concurrently.

I think, we have a unique date with history to set things in order.

renukb · Post by **renukb** » 30 Oct 2008 11:47

Page 1 of 2
India plays at Russian Imperial roulette
By John Helmer
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/JJ30Df07.html

renukb · Post by **renukb** » 01 Nov 2008 10:50

India rejects Russian aircraft carrier price demand Link Here

By Radhakrishna Rao

India's finance ministry has for the second time rejected a proposal from the nation's defence ministry to approve an additional $1.2 billion in funds to complete a retrofit project to the decommissioned Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov.

Moscow had originally agreed to deliver the modernised vessel for $1.5 billion, but demanded the additional payment after citing factors including an underestimation of the level of work required at its Sevmash shipbuilding yard.

India, which has already paid Russia two-thirds of the original programme cost, has made no further payments since January 2007, and the 44,500t carrier's expected delivery date has slipped from 2009 until at least 2012. The finance ministry's latest decision also stemmed from a request to allocate $60 million to perform sea trials of the refurbished vessel during 2011.

The Indian navy has ordered 12 RSK MiG-29K fighters and four MiG-29KUB trainers to operate from the ex-Russian navy ship.

renukb · Post by **renukb** » 03 Nov 2008 12:44

I could not find the right thread to post this, hence I am posting it here.

A tale of Russian aircraft carriers
http://www.mnweekly.ru/national/20080814/55342082.html
http://mnweekly.rian.ru/national/20080814/55342082.html
14/08/2008

MOSCOW - After years of debate the naval command and the national leadership seem to have agreed that the navy should have aircraft carriers. But this has not always been the case. To understand current thinking, it is necessary to take a look at the history of aircraft carrier building in Russia.

The Russian navy first used seaplanes in World War I, when its Black Sea Fleet used them to bombard enemy ports.

The possibility of building full-scale aircraft carriers was first mooted in Russia after the Civil War. Plans were drawn up to convert some ships - the training ship Komsomolets, the battleship Poltava and uncompleted battle cruisers of the Izmail class - into a new type of vessels.

However, the economy and industry were at such low ebb that the programs had to be postponed until better times.

The next step was taken in the late 1930s, when Soviet naval architects came up with two new projects: Project 71 (a light aircraft carrier with 45 planes) and Project 72 (a heavy aircraft carrier with 62 planes).

The work got under way, but World War II intervened. After the war the naval chiefs again raised the issue, but Soviet leaders did not share the admirals' enthusiasm for this class of vessels. Nonetheless, the shipbuilding program the country adopted in the 1950s provided for the construction of two light aircraft carriers, to gain operating experience and test their capabilities.

But when Stalin died, construction of large surface ships practically ground to a halt: the new leadership did not believe in traditional fighting services and opted for missile and nuclear weapons. The question was shelved for 10 more years.

In the late 1960s, the navy got its first helicopter cruisers, Moskva and Leningrad. But they were specialist craft intended for very specific missions, and could not operate as regular carriers. Meanwhile the Nevsky PKB, the country's largest producer of surface ships, was pondering plans for a carrier of 45,000 to 50,000 tons. Intended to provide air cover for groups of surface ships and submarines, it was to carry a complement of 35 to 40 planes, including deck-based MiG-23 fighters, early warning aircraft, and helicopters. The ship's own armaments were meant to deal with aircraft and submarines.

But instead of a fully operational carrier, the navy again got a dud - the Nikolayev shipyard began building a series of Project 1143 ships. These so-called "heavy aircraft carrying cruisers" were to be equipped with hunter-killer helicopters and Yak-38 vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) planes. Bazalt anti-ship missiles provided an additional capability.

Still, the idea of a full-blooded aircraft carrier was slowly but surely forcing its way into the open. It had high-placed patrons: the Minister of Shipbuilding Boris Butoma, who was interested in big orders from the navy, and Defense Minister Andrei Grechko, who quite undiplomatically requested that industry build aircraft carriers like the USS Nimitz. It was decided that with completion of the two Project 1143 heavy aircraft carriers Kiev and Minsk, contrustion would begin on the first carrier of Project 1160, with a displacement of 80,000 tons.

But the anti-carrier lobby prevailed, and instead of starting a new series a third Project 1143 ship, Novorossiisk, was built. The good work, however, was continued - by 1967 the Nevsky PKB had completed plans for a Project 1153 ship, which, though smaller than the previous 1160 project, was still a true carrier and, importantly, had a nuclear power plant. But the deaths of Grechko and Butoma put paid to the undertaking. After the Novorossiisk was launched in 1978, Nikolayev started construction of a fourth Project 1143 carrier. The new vessel was named the Baku and was to be fitted out with then non-existent Yak-141 fighter planes.

But the lame philosophy of Project 1143 was clear to everyone - despite being twice as large as British Invincible class light carriers equipped with Sea Harriers, the Russian vessels barely differed from them in capability. The missiles they carried, while increasing displacement and adding to costs, did not redeem them - the ships proved cumbrous and under-armed either as missile cruisers or light aircraft carriers. Normally-configured aircraft, moreover, required a total redesign of Project 1143 ships.

The upshot was that, in 1982, when the Baku hit the water, the Nikolayev yard laid the keel of a vessel capable of carrying a full-bodied air wing of MiG-29 and Su-27 jets. Yet the ship, initially christened the Riga, proved another messy compromise: it had a ramp instead of a catapult and 12 Granit anti-ship missiles in vertical launch silos to complement the organic aircraft.

Even before she was launched, the first full-blown Soviet aircraft carrier changed her name from the Riga to Leonid Brezhnev. In 1987, she was renamed the Tbilisi and in 1990, Admiral Kuznetsov.

The Kuznetsov has remained the only Soviet-built carrier. Its sister-ship Varyag, which was laid down two years after the Kuznetsov, was launched but remained unfitted, while the Ulyanovsk, a larger vessel with catapults and a nuclear power plant, was cut up on the blocks.

The Kiev, Minsk and Novorossiisk also suffered a sad fate. In 1993, they were decommissioned and sold to China as floating entertainment centers, while the Baku, renamed Admiral Gorshkov and sold to India, is currently being refitted as a standard aircraft carrier at Severodvinsk, Russia.

In the 1990s, few if any debated the subject. The theme re-emerged in the mid-2000s, when it was declared that Russia needed several aircraft-carrying ships in its Northern and Pacific fleets.

The numbers mooted ranged from two or three to six or eight. Now plans envisage building five to six carriers over the next 20 years. Construction proper is expected to start after 2012.

Much as we might wish to believe in the feasibility of these plans, there remain several unanswered questions. What missions will the aircraft carriers and their escort groups fulfill? When and with what funds will Russia re-engineer (or build from scratch) the infrastructure of its naval bases for new ships? What types of planes will be based on them? How are their crews to be staffed? And lastly, how long will it take to build these vessels and their escorts, especially with the current personnel squeeze in the shipbuilding industry?

It is my sincere hope that the navy's command and national leaders know the answers to these questions. Otherwise, we will get at best a couple of unprovided-for ships, which will have to be sold after 10 to 15 years of service, or at worst, nothing.

By Ilya Kramnik

renukb · Post by **renukb** » 03 Nov 2008 12:53

MEDVEDEV'S PLANS FOR MILITARY REARMAMENT
October 22, 2008
By Pavel Felgenhauer
October 3, 2008
http://georgiandaily.com/index.php?opti ... Itemid=132

At the end of August President Dmitry Medvedev announced five foreign policy priorities. The first and third points are benign: Russia will "recognize the fundamental principles of international law" and "does not want confrontation with any other country" nor does it intend to isolate itself.

The other three state, first, that Russia does not accept the current world order, which Medvedev calls "single-pole," as it is "unstable and threatened by conflict." Medvedev declared, "The world must be multi-polar." Second, Russia claimed the right as an "unquestionable priority” to "protect the lives and dignity of our citizens" as well as its interests "wherever they may be." Finally, Medvedev claimed, "there are regions in which Russia has privileged interests," an apparent reference to a geographically unspecified sphere of interests, that obviously includes Georgia, Ukraine, and other neighboring nations in Europe and Asia (www.kremlin.ru, August 31).

In accordance with Russian bureaucratic tradition, Medvedev's statement is in effect the country’s foreign policy doctrine short and clear. Medvedev added that the future of international relations depended on "our friends and partners" that "have a choice" to recognize Russia's rights and privileges. In August Russian troops invaded neighboring Georgia and occupied part of its territory. Russian military action in Georgia followed Medvedev's foreign policy doctrine: It was aimed against U.S. dominance in the Caucasus, it was an action within Russia’s "region of privileged interests," and it was claimed to have been undertaken in defense of Russian citizens and interests.

Last week Medvedev proceeded by announcing a short and clear defense doctrine in line with the foreign policy one. The defense doctrine also came in five principles. First, the organizational structure and deployment of troops would be enhanced. All combat units had to achieve "permanent readiness status" by 2020. Second, the efficiency of command and control systems in the Armed Forces would be improved. Without this, "it is impossible to count on success in today's wars and other armed conflicts." Third, the system of military education and personnel training would be modernized. Fourth, procuring the most modern weapons was a "high priority." Russia needed "fundamentally new, high-technology weapons." Fifth, military pay would increase, housing would improve, and the social problems of the Armed forces would be addressed.

Medvedev stressed that "These five factors will determine the battle-readiness of our Armed Forces. By 2020 we must guarantee the continued capacity of nuclear deterrence in various military and political situations, while rearming the troops with new types of weapons and means of gathering intelligence." Medvedev said, "We must achieve air superiority in conducting precision strikes on land and sea targets, as well as in troop mobility." First of all new warships armed with nuclear cruise missiles would be built, as well as attack submarines. A joint air-space defense system would also be built, he announced (www.kremlin.ru, September 26).

Medvedev presented his military doctrine to a gathering of army top brass at the Donguz military base in the Orenburg region on the border with Kazakhstan during strategic military exercise “Stability-2008” (see EDM, September 25). It was announced in Donguz that Stability-2008 was the largest military exercise in 20 years since the end of the Cold War. Maneuvers of units on land, sea, and in the air, both in Russia and on the high seas, began on September 1, will last over 2 months, and involve some 50,000 solders (RIA-Novosti, September 26). The scenario of Stability-2008 is of a local conflict escalating into an all-out air, sea, and land war between Russia and the West that in turn escalates into a global nuclear conflict with the United States. Recalling the war with Georgia, Medvedev stressed, "We have seen that an absolutely real war can erupt suddenly; and simmering local conflicts, which are sometimes even called 'frozen,' can turn into a real military firestorm" (www.kremlin.ru, September 26).

It is clear today that Russian military staffs on orders from the Kremlin preplanned the invasion of Georgia in August under the cover of military exercises Kavkaz-2008. In addition, massive strategic reinforcements were mobilized for a possible escalation of hostilities in case Washington offered Tbilisi assistance and became directly involved in the fray. It seems that in August-September 2008 we were, as during the Cold War, once again close to a possible armed conflict. Today the massive Russian military potential, mobilized for possible all-out war that did not happen, is being used in the Stability-2008 exercises.

This week Medvedev told top military commanders in the Kremlin that outside hostile forces "will not forgive" Russia's actions against Georgia, "but we must not be distressed; this was expected." Medvedev believes, "Russia must be big and strong, or it will not exist at all" and greedy foreigners will grab its riches. "The old world order was shattered in August," Medvedev told his military chiefs. "A new one is emerging more secure and just," based on Russian actions in Georgia (www.kremlin.ru, September 30). The new brave world has arrived, according to the Kremlin. Russia needs new nukes and air superiority to survive “big and strong.”

prabir · Post by **prabir** » 03 Nov 2008 17:13

Their doctrine and thinking is on dot because they have realized that US is not interested in an understanding that respects Russian interests. India should take advantage from both sides.

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 03 Nov 2008 17:22

Clear thinking and enunciation of goals from Medvedev.I wish our PM could be so decisive.

Here's Medvedev's respons in the IOR too! Are we exercising with Russia? If not why not?
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=73 ... =351020602

Russia tones naval brawn in Indian Ocean
Sat, 01 Nov 2008 19:01:15 GMT

Russian nuclear-powered cruiser Pyotr Veliky (Peter the Great) is to lead the Northern Fleet squad into the Indian Ocean.
Russia is to flaunt its naval firepower in the Indian Ocean in an attempt to ensure stability and security in the body of water.

Handpicked battleships from the Pacific and Northern Fleets would take part in the drills" in the interests of strengthening stability and security in its various regions," AFP quoted a navy spokesman as saying.

The 'combat training missions' are slated for the remaining months of the year, Igor Dygalo added.

The exercises have been moved by the increasing exposure to piracy in the Arabian Sea which serves to embed various commercial arteries. The Pacific Fleet vessels are due in the sea later this month.

The imposing nuclear-powered missile cruiser Pyotr Veliky (Peter the Great) is to lead the Northern Fleet flotilla into the Indian Ocean after the armada finished joint exercises with the Venezuelan naval squad in the Caribbean.

renukb · Post by **renukb** » 03 Nov 2008 18:36

It seems that this may not be a coincidence after all. India has vision 2020. Russia plans to have it big interms of mil goals/plans by 2020. China would want to get back Taiwan between 2015 - 2020. Right now the US and west have ENEMies everywhere in the ME region.

If all goes well in the region, by 2020, the US and the rest of its western poodledom can kiss good bye to the Asian region and they can live happily ever after in their own respective homelands.